Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1887-03-26

At Sanford we found the biggest town on
the st. Johns above Jacksonville. Ithas i've
railroads and about 5000 people. 1t IS on the
beautiful Lake Monroe, into which the river
EXPANDS at this point, and is in the center OF
a rich orange growing territory. Lake Mon
roe makes one think Of the Mediterranean
near Alexandria, and one has to shut his
ewes and reason to convince himself that he is
still in the United States. The palmettos
rising from the islands Of the lake, in the dis
lance. look like a view Of the African shores,
and the sky and the sun and the " hole aspect
of nature is tropical This lake is twelve
miles long and five miles wide. Its banks
are dotted with settlements, and the banana,
the lemon and the orange grow upon 1t.
We visited the orange grove of Mr.. Bodlne,
of New York, at Enterprise, on Lake Monroe,
from whence we took the cars for Indian
river, and picked the golden balls of luscious
fruit from their green leaves with our own
hands Some of the trees. we were told,
yielded as much as $40 worth OF fruit every
wear. and have heard of orange trees which
Weld from SIS to 500 worth of fruit annually.
A good orange grove in Florida is indeed
fortune. Five acres in bearing Is enough to
keep man from want, and there is five
and one-half acre grove here at SANFORD
which produces from $4,000 to S12, 900
worth of oranges yearly. 1t is famous, and
is known as the Spiers grove. In 1856, just
before the big frost, some Baltimore fruit
dealers called upon its owners and offered
them $4,000 for the oranges on the trees as
they then stood. They refused, intending to
market them themselves and expecting to net
$4,000 Two weeks later the big frost came,
and they lost almost their entire crop. Their
gross receipts were, understand, only 500
or $500. **s
This big frost cost Florida the greater part Of
its orange crop and lost the state more than
Sd 100000. 1t hurt the bearing of the trees for
this wear, and it is apprehended by some orange
growers that it will take them another year after
this before they fully recover. 1t gave Florida
orange growers decided set back, and they have
not as yet regained their enthusiasm. Still,
orange lands are very high and they range in the
vicinity of settlements from S25 to 500 an acre
unimproved. Some orange lands are worth $500
acre, and there are some, am told, which could
not be bought for 81, 900 an acre. A good grove
in bearing will sell for fortune, and the five
acres of the Spiers grove, which 1 spoke of as
$4,000 worth of oranges is estimated
as being worth 100000 1t takes from five to ten
years to grow an orange grove, and new groves
are fast coming into bearing. They bear for
generations, and there are good orange trees
which are hundreds of years old Each good tree
produces many oranges sometimes several
thousands; and / have been told that there are
trees which produce 1900, 5000 and 200 oranges
yearly. At cent apiece the tree, which
price can be usually gotten, it will be seen that
this is nice investment.
The orange industry of Florida has increased
tenfold in five years In 1880 only 100000 boxes
were shipped out of the state, while in 1884 and
1885 the exports were 100000 boxes and their
value 81 100000. The United States eats, it is
6OO,OOOOO0 Of oranges yearly,
enough to give each man, woman and
child ten oranges and not more than one-tenth of
this amount is raised here. The Florida oranges
are better than any other, and Florida will one
day supply the country.
AS to the profits of orange raising per acre, it
is estimated that an average acre planted in or
anges produces, when well taken of, $500 per
acre, or 40 times more than an average acre of
cotton, 81 times the value of acre of wheat and
IS times the value of an acre of corn, estimating
80 bushels of corn to the acre and 20 bushels of
wheat.